FocusPod Solo™
FocusPod Solo Plus™
FocusPod Duo™
FocusPod Team™
FocusPod Meet™
FocusPod Max™How to Get an Office Pod Approved
Buying guide
Getting a pod signed off.
You already know you want one. This is for the part where you have to convince someone who doesn't sit on your floor.
The internal case for an office pod comes down to five things finance will ask: an itemised cost, what it replaces, whether it needs landlord approval, how it is treated on the books, and what happens at the end of the lease. All five have short answers. A four-person pod installed and furnished is about $16,490 ex GST against $20,000 to $40,000 for building the equivalent room — and unlike a fitout, the pod is an asset you keep.
Why this stalls
Almost never on the meritsPod purchases rarely fall over because someone decided a pod was a bad idea. They fall over because the person who wants one cannot answer three questions quickly enough, and the request quietly slides to next quarter.
The three are always the same: what does it cost, what does it replace, and what happens to it later. Get those on one page and most approvals take a week.
The numbers to put in front of finance
Itemised, not bundledThe most useful thing you can do is present the cost as separate lines rather than a single figure. It reads as diligence, and it lets someone approve part of it if the whole thing is too much this quarter.
| Setup | Pod | Install | Furniture | Total ex GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-person booth, self-assembled | $10,730 | — | $515 | $8,044 |
| One-person booth, installed | $10,730 | $1,145 | $515 | $9,039 |
| Two-person pod, installed | $14,625 | $1,490 | $1,145 | $12,690 |
| Four-person meeting pod, installed | $17,605 | $1,725 | $2,000 | $16,490Delivery included |
Delivery is included in all of these, nationwide across New Zealand. Self-assembly is a genuine option — two people, two to four hours, tools supplied — and it takes $1,145 off the smallest configuration if the budget is tight.
What it replaces
The comparison that wins the argument| Acoustic pod | Building the room | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $17,605–$16,490 ex GST | Typically $20,000–$40,000 |
| Time on site | One morning | Two to six weeks |
| Trades | None | Carpenter, electrician, plasterer, painter |
| Landlord approval | Generally not required | Almost always, often with drawings |
| Disruption | Team keeps working | Dust, noise, restricted floor access |
| At lease end | Comes with you | Demolished, make-good payable |
| On the books | Depreciable asset you own | Leasehold improvement, left behind |
Make-good is the argument most people leave out, and it is often the one that lands. Building a room creates an obligation to demolish it and reinstate the space when the lease ends. That cost never appears on a fitout quote and is frequently five figures. A freestanding pod creates none. More detail in the full cost comparison.
The five objections, and what to say
In the order they arrive“Can't people just use headphones?”
Headphones stop the wearer hearing the room. They do nothing about the room hearing the wearer, which is the actual problem. A person on a client call at their desk disturbs everyone within earshot regardless of what they are wearing.
“Can we wait until the next fitout?”
A pod is not part of a fitout. It is furniture that arrives in days, needs no trades or approvals, and moves with you if you relocate. Waiting for a fitout to solve a noise problem usually means waiting years, and the pod would come with you anyway.
“Will the landlord allow it?”
Nothing attaches to the floor, walls or ceiling, so it is treated as furniture rather than an alteration. Council approval is not required anywhere in New Zealand. If the building manager asks about floor loading, the weight and footprint figures are published and we will supply them in writing.
“What if we don't use it?”
Fair question, and the honest answer is that pods fail when they go in the wrong place, not when they perform badly. Put it where people already take calls. If you want to prove the case first, rent one for a month — and if you then buy, the purchase is credited against the purchase.
“Is this a capital or operating expense?”
Buying is capital, generally treated as a depreciable asset because the pod is freestanding and relocatable rather than a leasehold improvement. Hiring is an operating expense. Your accountant will want to confirm the treatment, and this page covers the general position.
Ask for two
The mistake that wastes the first oneIf you can get two approved, get two. This is the single most useful thing we can tell someone building an internal case, and it costs us nothing to say because it is what actually happens on floors.
People stop using a pod when they find it occupied twice in a row. After that they go back to taking calls at their desk, and the pod sits there being excellent and unused. One booth per fifteen people works for normal call volumes; one per eight to ten for sales, recruitment or anything client-facing.
If the budget only covers one, put it where the noise actually is rather than where there is spare floor. That is usually near the sales or client-facing team, not in the quiet corner nobody sits in.
An email you can send
Copy and adaptSubject: Proposal — acoustic pod for the floor
Hi [name],
I’d like to propose we put an acoustic pod on the floor to deal with the call noise. Summary below.
Cost. [$X] ex GST all up, itemised as pod, delivery, installation and furniture. Delivery is included. Quote attached.
What it replaces. Building an equivalent room would run $20,000–$40,000 plus two to six weeks of trades on the floor, and we’d have to demolish it and make good at the end of the lease. The pod avoids all of that.
Approvals. None needed. It’s freestanding furniture, nothing fixed to the building, no council or landlord consent required. Weight and floor loading figures available if the building manager asks.
Treatment. Freestanding and relocatable, so it should be a depreciable asset rather than a leasehold improvement — worth confirming with [accountant].
Timing. Standard colours, ships three-week lead time, installed in one morning with no disruption to the floor.
Happy to walk through it whenever suits.
What other buyers said afterwards
Named, with permission★★★★★
“We added a FocusPod Solo because private phone calls were becoming difficult in our open-plan office. It gets used constantly for client calls, Zoom meetings and focused work. It looks professional, takes up very little space and has freed up our meeting rooms for larger groups.”
Emily Carter
Harbour Lane Finance
★★★★★
“We originally purchased one FocusPod Solo to see how much use it would get. Within the first week, staff were booking it throughout the day. It has given everyone a quiet place to take calls without interrupting the rest of the office.”
Daniel Brooks
Westbridge Property Group
★★★★★
“The Solo has been a great addition to our studio. We have a collaborative workspace, which is excellent most of the time, but it can be difficult when someone needs privacy or complete concentration. The pod solves that problem without taking over the room.”
Sarah Mitchell
Coastline Creative
Common questions
How do I justify an office pod to my finance team?
Frame it against the alternative rather than against nothing. A four-person pod installed and furnished is about $16,490 ex GST; building an equivalent room in a leased tenancy typically runs $20,000 to $40,000 plus two to six weeks of disruption and a make-good obligation at lease end. A pod is also generally a depreciable asset you own rather than a leasehold improvement you leave behind.
What information will my finance team ask for?
An itemised quote separating pod, delivery, installation and furniture; the total including GST; the asset versus leasehold improvement treatment; whether landlord approval is needed; and what happens to it at the end of the lease. All five are answerable in a single email.
Do I need landlord approval for an office pod?
Generally no. A freestanding pod does not attach to the floor, walls or ceiling and is treated as furniture rather than building work. Check your lease for conditions on floor loading, and if your building manager asks, the weight and footprint figures are published.
How do I answer the 'can we just use headphones' objection?
Headphones stop the wearer hearing the room. They do not stop the room hearing the wearer, which is the actual problem — a person on a call at their desk disturbs everyone around them regardless of what they have on their head.
What if we're told to wait until the next fitout?
Point out that a pod is not part of a fitout. It is furniture that arrives in days, needs no trades or approvals, and moves to the new space if you relocate. Waiting for a fitout to solve a noise problem usually means waiting years.
How long does the whole process take once approved?
Days rather than months for a stocked model. In-stock pods dispatch the three-week lead time and install in a single morning, so most teams are using the pod within a week or two of sign-off.
Should I ask for one pod or several?
Ask for two if you can. The most common failure is a single pod that is always occupied — people try twice, find it busy, and stop trying. One per fifteen people is a reasonable ratio, or one per eight to ten for sales and client-facing teams.
Useful alongside this: every price published so you can build the quote yourself, the cost calculator for comparing against a fitout quote, and pod versus building a room for the detail behind the table above.
Need it itemised for approval?
Tell us the space and we will send a fixed quote with pod, delivery, installation and furniture as separate lines — which is usually exactly what finance asks for.